The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-01-11
The Men Complain the Company
Has Not Kept its Agreements.
The Strikers and Company Meet and
Come 10 an Amicable Agreement.

ance Of the men is not known, but 1t Is be-
lieved to be the failure Of President Powers
to keepl his part Of an agreement recently
made with the men.
A Charlestown ear was started from
Charleston Neck this morning and several
Shawmut Avenue cars have passed over the
line since, manned by non-union drivers and
conductors, who are protected by from four
to six policemen on each car. Thus far
40 a. m.) there is no knowledge Of any dis.
turbance. and it is not generally expected
that there will be any.
A later report this morning said that the
officers Of the road had no use for the hun
dred or more policemen sent from various
stations to the different termlni to protect
the property Of the road and shortly after s
o'clock large number of them were released
from this special duty.
General Manager Rugg and as assistants
were busy trying to induce outside men to 20
to work for the road, but as the unemployed
men who approached were in sympathy with
the strikers they met with little success In
this line.
President Powers Of the consolidated road
evinced great aslonishment at the strike He
had every reason to believe that the men
were in the main satisfied with the adjust
ment OF the few differences that seemed TO
exist. He had not until recently been In a
position to personally direct all the details
OF the management of the men. but had in
formed them a short time ago that he pro-
posed to give the matter Of extra work and
pay his immediate attention, and he further
told them that he would guarantee to ar
range everything to their satisfaction. The
strike he considers wholly unwarranted.
The tie-up came so suddenly that the offic-
ers OF the road had no opportunity to make
any provisions for carrying on business.
They hope to find men enough by noon to
run their cars as usual.
Manager Rugg says that when they agreed
matters Of time and pay they would act rea-
s0nably and confer with railroad officials
with view to arranging everything to the
satisfaction Of .all. The only complaints
that were made, he says, were In
reference to meal hours.pay Of trippers, Sun
day work, boarding house keeping by officers
OF the road and extra men 70 carry the pole
at stables and stations. There were not
more than ten effected by the change of
schedule so as to be deprived Of their full
than 20 conductors and drivers who were put
onto the trip list. Mr.. Rugg said further:
We always have surplus Of men In the
winter owing to changes In time. We angred
that no official should keep boarders in the
future; that extra men be furnished to car
Immediately arranged; that regular men
should not be required to work Sunday, but
we refused topledge that If any man desired
to work Sundays he should be allowed to do
so without intolerance and be paid according
to the work performed; that there should be
no discrimination in the treatment, hours, or
pay Of men at either end of the line; and
that, in fact, we would grant any and all
reasonable requests. The only clause Of their
request which we could not agree 70 was one
l..NI
ran one or more extra trips, which demand
Is absurd. They claim that the number Of
trippers has been largely increased. This Is
entirely due to four horse timetables, which
throws out fifty or sixty regular drivers and
conductors. The strikers will receive no
oyertures from the road. II they report at
once ready for duty they may return TO work.
III not, we will get other men, and the strik-
ers Twill find themselves In the cold. They
have precipitated this thing and taken adj
vantage Of us, and we will try to protect our
own interests.
street station about o'clock, the driver be-
ing the night foreman Of the Shawmut street
stables, and the conductor one OF the regu-
lar street aids, "A large number of police
prevented any demonstration at the starting
point, but beyond, atintervals during the en-
tire trip, the car was greeted with boots and
Kisses, although no violence was attempted.
A CharlestOwn car came over under police
protection and was not molested. The police
had the stables and starting points well
guarded, and had large reserve force in
readiness to quell any disturbance that
President Powers at II o'clock advertised
for 800 able-bodied men TO work on the tied
up road, all Of whom would be guaranteed
steady work and good wages. II Is stated
that Superintendent Studley Of the Charles
town district has induced number Of his old
men to return to. work. and that he had Is
cars running from that end.
Quite number Of cars were running on
the Shawmut avenue and Charlestown lines
at noon. These were all under police patrel
and met with no more violent demonstration
than boots, yells and cries Of "Scab, scab,
which followed them through the more
crowded parts Of the city. These greetings
were chiefly from the drivers of other teams,
newsboys, few pedestrians, and a consid-
erable number Of idlers who lined the curb
stones along Washington street, and congre-
gated in front Of the newspaper bulletin
boards. The bulletins were watched by
large crowds Of people who by their num-
bers blocked the middle Of the street and had
to be cleared away every few moments to al
low the passage Of teams.
The employees of the Metropolitan road
held meeting this morning and voted to
appropriate 5000 to assist the strikers. A
meeting Of the employees Of the South Boston
road was attended by the same result, and
The horseshoers who joined the strikers
are employed by the National Horseshoeing
Company, and number 500. This company
has the handling of 10000 horses used by
the Consolidated, Metropolitan, South Bos-
ton and Cambridge roads. 1t IS understood
that the men joined the strike to sustain the
tie-up and get more pay, all being Knights
of Labor. The horses on the Roxbury end
of thesConsolidated road are shOd by en-
ployes, and these have refused to work.
Advices from Maiden and Everett state
that all the Consolidated road employees left
this nIorning, and that after the horses had
been fed the stables and stations were locked
up aud no attempt was made to send ears
out: These places have good steam railroad
facilities and not very much Inconvenience
Is caused. One of the strikers said this noon
that there was no need of having policemen
about, as there would be no trouble. The
public, he said, do not fully understand the
strikers side of the case. What they object
to is the knocking of Of regulars and the
substitution Of trippers. He said:
The company found that they could save
money by employing men by the trip, and
they have taken many Of the regulars, who
have been on the road for years, and put
them on trips, which Is very unfair. Some
of them can earn only from 37i cents a day
up to 81 or S1.25, depending ON the number
of trips. 1t is hard on man with family
especially to start out In the morning and not
know whether or not he is going to earn
enough to feed his children. We appealed
to the company and they promised to fix
matters. That's all the good it did. The
company didn't do anything. We sent to
them again and with the same result. Then
we gave them warning and we struck. The
Knights OF Labor did not order the strike
The mean took the responsibility upon them
selves and claim TO have ample financial sup
port and can hold out as long as the compa-
ny can.
The strikers remain very quiet and orderly,
the most Of the hooting being done by boys
and idle people.
A crowd in opposition to the scabs gath
cred this afternoon in large numbers on New
Washington street In Haymarket Square.
through which the Charlest0wn cars must
60 In passing either way. Here the noislest
demonstrations Of the day were made. The
seabs were hooted and the tracks filed with
people.
At o'clock the police succeeded in clear
ing the middle Of New Washington street OF
people, who then massed on the sidewalks
on either side down TO the Boston q Maine
depot. Each car as 1t went along was greet
ed with a storm of Kisses and wells. which
continued all along the line despite the
efforts Of the police.
No Further Trouble.
No cars have been run by the Bos ton con
solidated road since dark and everything Is
quiet along the line. The stables Of the com
pany are guarded by details OF police, but
there have been no disturbances whatever.
Inc directors OF the company, as well as en-
pl0yes, are holding meetings 10 day. and II
is understood that the former made a promo